Upcoming Events
Spring 2026
Japanese American Art Researching, Curating, and Making
Friday, February 6 | 10:30AM-4:00PM | DML 240 | RSVP
This one-day symposium brings together scholars, curators, and artists to explore the creation, interpretation, and presentation of Japanese American art. Focusing on the influential works of acclaimed Nikkei artists Isamu Noguchi and Chiura Obata, the event examines how their artistic visions were shaped by the spatial and historical contexts of the 20th century, including the profound impact of wartime incarceration.
The symposium also considers the broader landscape of Nikkei art—its development within arts collectives, community museums, and major contemporary art institutions. Presenters will offer insights into the politics of curating and making Japanese American art in the decades following World War II.
Presented by the Shinso Ito Center and co-sponsored by the USC East Asian Studies Center and the USC Van Hunnick History Department.
Technoscience, Gender and Cultural Transformations in Korea
Friday, February 13 – Saturday. February 14 | All Day | TCC 227 | RSVP
Academic conference in the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies of science and technology in Korea, examining the dynamic intersections of technoscience, gender, and culture. The conference will foster dialogue across disciplines and methodologies to deepen insights into both the gendered impacts of contemporary technoscientific developments and the ways in which embodied perspectives inform technoscientific practices and cultural imaginaries.
Presented by the Korean Studies Institute and co-sponsored by the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, USC Libraries, USC’s Center for Feminist Research, the Center for International Studies, the East Asian Studies Center, and the Office of the Divisional Dean of Social Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences..
EASC Guest Speaker Series: Between Export and Inheritance: Korean American Identity in the Age of K-Beauty – Talk by David Yi
Wednesday, February 18 | 3:30PM-5:00PM | AHN| RSVP
EASC Guest Speaker Series: Talk by David Yi with Faculty Moderator Prof. Sunyoung Park (EALC 430: Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Culture)
David Yi, USC alum and co-founder of Very Good Light and the gender-inclusive beauty brand good light, discusses a central paradox of the present moment: as Korean culture gains unprecedented global visibility through K-beauty, K-pop, and media, Korean Americans often remain culturally peripheral to that success. Drawing from his work as a writer and founder in the K-beauty industry, the talk explores questions of belonging, authorship, and power at the intersection of diaspora, capitalism, and cultural export.
This event is co-cponsored by the USC Korean Studies Institute.
Grateful Crane Ensemble: Grateful Crane Shows Over the Years
Friday, February 27 | 3:00PM-5:00PM | TBD | RSVP
The Grateful Crane Ensemble (GCE), under the leadership of Executive Director and Playwright Soji Kashiwagi, presents Grateful Crane Shows Over the Years—a special performance highlighting the Ensemble’s artistry from 2001–2025.
Through music and storytelling, GCE shares timeless songs and stories that illuminate universal human experiences while honoring Japanese and Japanese American history and culture. This program showcases highlights from the Ensemble’s repertoire, including traditional Japanese children’s songs, wartime stories of resilience, tributes to Japantowns, comedic takes on Japanese pop culture, and a celebration of legendary singer Misora Hibari.
Presented by the Shinso Ito Center and co-sponsored by the USC East Asian Studies Center.
Spring 2026 EASC Grad Student Connect
Tuesday, November 18 | 4:00PM – 5:30PM | CAS 100 | RSVP
Please join us for the Spring 2026 EASC Grad Student Connect! Enjoy food, drink and conversation with fellow students across USC while learning about EASC’s academic programming and opportunities. Graduate students from any field are welcome to join, so this is a great opportunity to meet fellow students with Asia-related research topics and interests!
Joint Book Talks on South Korean Social Activism
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 | 3:00PM-4:50PM | AHN House
Professors Jennifer Chun (UCLA, Asian American Studies) and Judy Han (UCLA, Gender Studies) present a joint book talk on South Korean social activism, discussing their latest works, Against Abandonment: Repertoires of Solidarity in South Korean Protest and Queer Throughlines: Spaces of Queer Activism in South Korea and the Korean Diaspora.
Drawing on ethnographic and transnational research, the talks examine the culture of protest in South Korea, its achievements and precarity, and the development of Korean LGBTQ+ activism since the 1990s. Together, they explore how social movements form solidarities across gender, sexuality, labor, and diaspora, and how these movements intersect locally and globally.
Co-sponsored by the Consortium for Gender, Sexuality, Race and Public Culture, the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, the East Asian Studies Center, and the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
Spring 2026 EASC Faculty Luncheon
Thursday, April 9 | 11:30AM-1:30PM | KSH | Invitation Only
EASC is excited to host our annual Faculty Luncheon this spring! We look forward to having the opportunity to share recent developments and reconnect with each other. We will be hosting this year’s lunch meeting at the University Club Scriptorium. We look forward to celebrating the end of the semester with you!
EASC Guest Speaker Series: Page and Stage: The Printing of Drama in the Late Ming – Talk by Yuming He
Monday, April 13 | 4:10PM-5:50PM | Zoom | RSVP
EASC Guest Speaker Series: Talk by Prof. Yuming He (UC Davis) with Faculty Moderator Prof. Mengxiao Wang (EALC 506: Selections from Classical Chinese Literature)
The late Ming was an age of print, and drama was one of its most dynamic forms. This talk discusses the characteristic strategies used by late-Ming bookmakers to organize dramatic texts in print, and explores how these editorial acts allowed such imprints to enter broader intellectual and cultural life where a critical position within the popular became possible.
EASC Guest Speaker Series – Trump Yantra: the Material Culture of Symbiotic Provisions between Thai Monks and Laity – Talk by Susanne Kerekes
Monday, April 20 | 2:00PM-3:20PM | Zoom | RSVP
EASC Guest Speaker Series: Talk by Prof. Susanne Kerekes (Trinity College) with Faculty Moderator Prof. Jessica Zu (REL 342: Buddhist Modernism)
The Buddhist clergy depends on the lay community for material provisions and monetary donations. In return, the laity are said to gain merit (puññā), or other spiritual benefits, such as a Dhamma talk, meditation guidance, chant or a ritual. The author observes that the Thai laity also seek from the clergy material memorabilia, such as yantra, for this-worldly benefits. Through a case study of two talismanic yantra created by a Thai monk at the request of lay business owners, this talk argues that the symbiotic relationship between clergy and laity often manifests in material ways.
Providing leadership, coordination and support for East Asian studies at the University of Southern California.
120
Affiliated Faculty in over 44 departments
405
Students sent to East Asia on Global East Asia
$3.1 M
Awarded in Student and Faculty Funding
EASC Signature Programs
Undergraduate
Global East Asia (GEA) is a four week upper-division Maymester research course with a study abroad component for USC undergraduate students, made possible by the East Asian Studies Center and USC Dornsife. This intensive program gives students the opportunity to travel and conduct research in China or Japan. Students from all majors, schools and language backgrounds are eligible to apply and experience East Asia in a unique way.
Graduate
EASC Graduate Fellowships provide summer stipends, typically between $1,000-$3,000, depending on the proposed course of study. The purpose of the award is to advance understanding of East Asia and/or US-Asia relations. The award may be used for research, language training or area studies, and can also be used for research including Asia in a comparative context or as a case study.
Research
A centerpiece of the East Asian Studies Center’s efforts to support all forms of research that deal with East Asia at USC is the manuscript review. Any USC faculty working on a book that deals with East Asia in some way are eligible for possible support. The program is designed to provide helpful and timely feedback to faculty preparing monographs or other similarly large academic works prior to submission for publication.
EASC Graduate Fellowship Applications are Open!
EASC Graduate Fellowships provide summer stipends, typically between $1,000-$3,000, depending on the proposed course of study. The purpose of the award is to advance understanding of East Asia and/or US-Asia relations. Awards are given based on the quality of the proposed project and budgets submitted with the application. The award may be used for research, language training or area studies, and can also be used for research including Asia in a comparative context or as a case study.
Applications are due by 5:00pm on February 6, 2026.
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East Asian Studies Center
3454 Trousdale Parkway, CAS 100
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0154